The Heart Of Shadow: Shadow Self
by Dragon RainMaker
Summary: Discontinue PG-13. Can Kenji fight a battle against his weakness, fear and his past and at the same time protect Uriko who have been hunted by a mysterious enemy 'cause she is The Key to the door which will bring doom. Can he?
1. The Shadow and The Voice

The Heart Of Shadow

Prologue

By: Kenji

It has been weeks after the disappearence of the sign from the zoanthropes. No one know how it came to an end but it did, and that's the matter gone.The usual life of all other zoanthropes came back to them, Yugo being a boxer at the same time being the leader of NGO, Alice became a head nurse of the hospital she's working in, Gado retired as a mercenary and continue hapling Yugo with the NGO, Long went back to his 'master', Shina are no where to be find and so is Shenlong and Stun, Jenny continue to be the 'fashion queen' and Busuzima continue to be locked up in the prison.

The two youngest of the zoanthropes, Uriko Nonomura and Kenji Ohgami, are back to their usual school life, getting up at 8, going to school, coming home and homework, the same usual life of bordom... with an unusual shadow lurking behind their backs... This is where 'The Heart Of Shadow' begin...

The Heart Of Shadow

Part 1: Shadow Self

Chapter 1: The Shadow and The Voice

By: Kenji

In the stillness of the night, the silent from the sleep, a person twisted and turned, wrining from the shadow while sweat traced the outline of his face. Kenji eyes kept close but under the eyelide, his eyebow are struggling. He twisted and turned, fighting to get free from his enemy. An invisible shadow hoovered over him and smirked, the shadow attacks caused new wounds on Kenji already bitter body. With one loud yell, Kenji morphed into a mole form and broke free from the shadow grip, his eyes remain close. Kenji strike with his claws and hit the air and yet the shadow scream in pain as it slowly disappear but seconds before he totally disappear, it gave Kenji a wicked evil smile, then vanished.

Kenji snap open his eyes and in it show fear from the battle he just fought, he could feel the line of blood running down his arm and down to the wooden floor. He calmed himself down and morphed back to human. Yugo choose this moment to burst in, he find his younger brother covered in bruises and a cut on his right arm. He look directly at Kenji's eyes and find them looking back at him with fear, his body shaking slightly, his face and neck covered by cold sweat and the blood of the wound on his right arm still dropping down to the floor.

Yugo went over to his brother and breifly examine the wound on his right arm, it wasn't serious and the blood started to form a scab over it. He lefted his head and came in eye contact with his brothers yellow eyes (A/N: I got prove it's yellow). "Are you ok? What happened?"

Kenji reaction seems like been knock out of a trace, his eyes once again hid the emotion and along it his fear. He shake his head as a respone.

Yugo watch his reaction carefully, he is curious about what happened. "What happened?" Yugo repeated.

"Nothing, just banged my arm against the coner of the nightstand." Kenji voice are calm but with a slight bit of fear.

Yugo know that can't be the truth, Kenji sences work only at night and he can sence almost anything at night, he can't possibly get harmed at night and by himself? No way this is truth, and beside, what is he afriad of then? But Yugo know that if he question on he still wouldn't get the truth, he will know it when Kenji are ready to tell him.

Yugo give out a sigh, telling Kenji he know that's a lie, and smile back at his brother. "Alright then, I'll get that arm bandages and you might want to take a little rest." With that said, he went out the room in serach of the first-aid kit that Alice put in a 'obivice' place, wherever that is.

Kenji watch as Yugo left the room, knowing it will take some time till Yugo will re-enter the room again, Kenji use his other good arm and wipe away the sweat from his forehead and cheek. He lie down on his bed and closed his eyes, not trying to sleep at all, but the battle he fought a while ago worn him out, without knowing, he fell asleep without returning to...that place...

(-_-)

The sun shine the first morning light, the light went throught the room window and on to the young boy face. The boy didn't even struggle to get out of the sunlight, he slept soundly under the warm sun.

Ouside his room, at the living room, Yugo had called the Alice and Uriko to come over. They sat on the sofa and chairs, forming a semi-circle. Yugo told Alice and Uriko about what happened last night and also breifly mention about putting the first-aid putting in a too secreted place. After the story the room was left silence, each at their own mind of thought about reasons.

"Could he be in a fight?" Alice asked.

"At night time?" Yugo questioned.

"It's possible you know, he is a mole and mole wakes at night." Alice informed, she had also studed about animals such as rabbits, cats, wolf etc.

Uriko, who had closed her eyes to think, finally opened her eyes "I don't think so, moles, as Alice said before, wakes at night but Kenji is a half human were-mole, he got keen sence at night so if anything tried to go near him, he will notice and if he knows something is going towards him, he shouldn't be afriad but no instead he is so..."

"What do you think it is, Uriko?" Alice asked.

"I have a feeling that it is something else, it's something that isn't physhic but that's just my feeling, in reality, I don't know." Then her voice turn to whisper "The feeling felt so real, it's like if it's reality."

"What's that?" Alice asked, she barely heard her voice while she whisper.

She shake her head "No, I didn't say anything." But her mind disagree, the feeling of her's are stronge. If she tell Alice, she might get some medince treatment for it.

"ARGH!" A scream of pain came from Kenji's room.

The three went to his room, Yugo push open the door and they find Kenji holding his head in pain.

"What's wrong, Kenji?" Yugo asked.

"T-The voice..." Kenji shut his eyes tight, hoping that, that will make the pain stop.

On the mention of voice, Uriko felt her knees weakling and she collapesed into Alice's arm, making Alice and Yugo double worried. Unknown to them, Uriko also heard the voice in Kenji's head. the message of the voice was unclear and in a low tone.

__

Da.ger .. com... .ear, th. battl. .f sel., ac..pt y.u. we...es., fe.r a.d y..r ..st

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'What was that voice?' Uriko thought then look at Kenji who seems to relax after the voice stopped.

__

'Did you...Did I just heard the voice in your mind, Kenji?'

-To Be Continue...-

A/N: This time, I'm determinded to continue and finish this series, no one is going to stop me, no matter how many flames, hahahahaha!!!


	2. The Known

The Heart Of Shadow

Part 1: Shadow Self

Chapter 2: The Known

By: Kenji

At night, when everyone in the Nonomura house was asleep, the desk light in Uriko's room switched on. Uriko sat on the chair and lain against the table with a pencil in hand, she scrible something on to a piece of white paper and exmain it. It was the words of the voice she heard that morning in the Ohgami house, the voice in Kenji's head. She looked at the paper over and over, filling in letters once in a while until she understand the whole thing.

__

Danger is coming near, the battle of self, accept your weakness, fear and your past.

Uriko look over the sentence again, wondering about the meaning. She take it seriouly, she don't want any danger hurting her friends and family and especially not Kenji.

__

'Kenji?!' Realization just hit her head, she hold the paper up to her face and once again, read over the sentence. _'What if this sentence is a warning, a warning to Kenji?!'_

Her mind run over the possiblities, she really didn't know, Kenji is a kind of person that don't want to express his emotion, not his fear nor weakness and his past... his past is like a mystery. The answer Uriko's mind came up was a 100% possiblities.

Uriko felt her eyes widen from shook, she drop the paper and press both hands against her mouth, trying to stop the sound of surprise and horror from escaping her troat. After the shook pass, she looked around the place for any sign of looking or peeping, she didn't find any. The next thing her mind could make was to warn Kenji about what the voice said.

Then the second thought hit her head, what if she got the words wrong? Then that would be nasty. After thinking things over several times over her head, she came up with the decision on just keeping a watchful eye on Kenji.

She give out a big yawn and switch off the desk light, carefully and soundlessly pushing the chair back to the table and climb back to bed, pulling the cover over her shoulder and close her eyes for sleep to come. She never expected that she will ever enter...that place...

(-_-)

Kenji open his eyes and find himself in the same place as last night, he is standing facing a gate, a wicked, out-of-place, rustly gate. The gate slowly opens, making a cracking squeeking sound at the hinge. When it's fully opened, a small white fog picked up behind him. A chill ran throught his back, sweat are once again shown. With undecided steps, he slowly walk in. A sudden pain strike his head, the pain bought him to his knees, the same voice came but this time, it's clear what it said.

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The 5th night, the 'Battle Of Self' shall start, don't fight against it, accept your role as a 'harmonixer'.

Once the voice was gone so did the pain. Kenji stood back up as if nothing happened except the words of the voice remain in his mind.

__

'Harmonixer'? What's that? I'm a zoanthrope not a harmonixer.'He thought.

He walked up to the open field in front of him, standing in the middle while looking at the earth. He sniffed, the soil on this part of the land are great for growing things such as crops and such. He can tell the difference of bad soil or good soil, after all, he have been a mole for quite some time now.

A flash came from somewhere but it flashed and the place started to change. A full moon that was hanging there start to change to a sun setting, the chilly night turn to a warm evening. He heard a sound, a shoving sound, behind him. Kenji turn around and saw a grown-up man dressed in a japanese army uniform with a tool used by old days former. He was planning seeds into the earth for growth.

"Dad!" A childish voice shouted over to the man.

Kenji turn around and cough his eyes on a small child around 5, running up to the man.The small child had dark brown hair, brown eyes, wearing an over-size red T-shirt and blue shorts, a pair of brown boots and a fox mask hanging around his neck, not on him.

"Dad!" The child call again.

The man look up from his work, his hair are lighter brown compare to the child, yellow eyes and a brownish colour skin, properly from all the sun he gets a day. He lifted up his shovel to his shoulder and smile at the child.

"Yes, what is it?" His voice strong but soft.

"Mom want you to get some food in you she said." The child answer.

"Ok." His smile grew bigger.

"Dad, can they grow before winter?" The child asked.

"Yes if I work fast enough."

Then there is silence, the child turn around, not facing his dad. Kenji look at the child then at the father then back to the child. He walked up between the two and they seems like he is invisible, which might possibly true.

"Dad?" There is a change in the child voice, it's no longer a sweet soft voice that are filled with cheers but a serious strong willed voice that of a muture.

Noticing the change of voice, he changed his to a serious yet remain soft voice. "Yes?"

"Do you really have to leave at winter?"

Silence, then "Yes." A definit voice replied.

The child let out a sigh and turned around, his eyes norrowed and his brown eyes show sign of a muture. The eyes, the norrowed eyes that Kenji is looking at now, it's just like...

The man smile and went over to his son, kneeing down to his eye level and putting down the shovel. He said in a much much softer voice then before. "I need you to take care of mom for me, you're a strong boy, can you do that for me?"

The child eyes show sign of understanding while he nodded. With a blink of his eyes, he turned back to his childish self. "Ok, I will do it. But now, we need to get you home for dinner."

The man smile grew even bigger and nodded, picking up the shovel and follow his son back to their house.

Kenji stood stationary, while the conversation between the father and son, he had felt a presence, two in fact. One of them seems familiar and far away, the other close but that he is sure he don't know who but in his heart, he dose.

The background of the sun setting changed back again, back to the chilly night with a large full moon. The new addition of wind send more creeps up his back.

He heard a bell, the kind of bell that's in children toys. Kenji turn around, facing a female woman that was wearing a green sleeve top, a black long skirt that go to above her ankles, a pair of black high heeled shoes, the woman face looked familiar to Kenji, with light brown eyes and lighter brown hair that tie up as a pony tail. She had a gold ring on her right hand 4th finger, a pair of crystal-like earring and a small bell hanging around her neck. The small bell ring again, the sound from this bell sounded ghostly and dark, like the lullbuy of hell.

She's walking towards Kenji, her eyes looking at him with a soft gaze. She stopped in front of him, watching his expression of ready to fight and smiled, not a evil wicked one but a soft one like being prond.

__

"Thank you for coming, my son." her voice sounded very ghost-like, sending a sudden wave of fear in Kenji's haert. 

"What do you mean, your son?" Kenji reply, his voice could have been shaking if he didn't control it in time.

__

"You're my son, that's why. and I'm very prond of you."

"Why?" Kenji ask, acting almost cold hearted but inside him, that's just an act.

__

"I'm prond of you for having the courage to take your first step back to your past." 

"My past..."

-To Be Continue...-

A/N: You might not understand it so far and that's the point so don't think this is hard to understand, it's not, it quite easy actually. Well, hope you enjoy and review it if you do. 


	3. The 1st Encounter, The Key and the Guard...

The Heart Of Shadow

Part 1: Shadow Self

Chapter 3: The 1st Encounter, The Key and The Guardian

By: Kenji

The morning arrival and people start to wake up for work and school. Uriko got up and dressed into her school uniform, a blue long sleeves shirt and a short skirt, a pair of white socks and black shoes. She woke up late that morning and went down the stairs, saying good morning to her mother and sister, then grabbed a burger and held it in her mouth and she dash off. (sound familiar?)

As she ran off to school, she ate her burger and didn't stop running till she reach her school, when she was there, she was relieved to be in time, in fact, the bell haven't even ring yet. She walk into her school and into her class room, finding only one person in so far.

She saw a boy, laining against the windowstill and not paying attendion to anyone inside the room. Uriko walk up beside the boy and when she came to a certain distance, she notice the boy as Kenji Ohgami.

"Kenji?" Uriko sounded even more surprised, Kenji didn't know she was inside the room?

Kenji broke out of his trace and face towards Uriko. Uriko find herself shooked again to find a bandage covering a wound on his face, right under his left eye. It's now her turn to fall under a trace, her eyes went blank and she slowly move towards him, her hand out and reach his face, touching the bandage.

In the middle of her trace, she whispered words that only she can hear "Why? Why did he had to be so hard on you?"

Kenji watch as Uriko sink deeper and deeper into her trace, her eyes although blank but it show some spark of knowledge, of something she know that she shouldn't...

__

Ding Ding Ding

The school bell choose this moment to ring and people start to fill the room, Uriko broke out of her trace when the bell rang and now was seated in her seat surounded by her friends, Kenji stayed at the windowstill and didn't went back to his seat until the teacher arrivaled.

Kenji was seated at the back of the class and the teacher barely notice him, he opened his history book and fuddle with the pencil in his hand, today the teacher are talking about history around 70 years ago. Kenji always hated history class especially at morning 'cause he need to fight against the will to sleep. 

He place his right elbow on the desk and his head on his hand, he drifted off to a world of his mind.

(-_-) Flashback (-_-)

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"I'm prond of you for having the courage to take your first step back to your past."

"My past..."

The little convarsation between his mother and himself was broken by an evil laugh, the sound of the laughter send the hair on the back of his neck standing but also send his blood boiling.

The image of his mother slowly faded to nothingness and the place only left with the evil laugh, as strange as it gets, Kenji already expected this laugh to come and the next thing that appears.

"Come out, NOW!" He shouted out his anger, feeling his hand tighting into a fist.

Stepping out from behind a tree nearby was what he had been expecting, a person at the height of a man, the same size as the man he saw before. He wear a japanese army uniform and wear a fox mask over his face. 

__

"Hello again..." He said, his voice the same as the man before.

(-_-) End Flashback (-_-)

"KENJI OHGAMI!!" The teacher voice traveled to his head, breaking all his thought and almost his eardrums.

"Yes m'am!?" He stood up and shouted back.

"ARE YOU AWAKE THIS WHOLE CLASS!!" The teacher yelled at him.

"Yes m'am!" He yelled back.

"Very good, now answer my question if you are awake." The teacher said, an evil smile over her face. (teachers are evil!)

"What is the question, m'am!?" He yelled, just like a soldier to a general.

"What happened to a boy named Silver Bullet at 1876 in North Japan?" The teacher asked.

The rest of the class start whispering about, each knowing that the answer are not of their knowledge just yet.

Uriko looked at the teacher shooked and whisper to the girl behind her "That's not fair, we didn't do that yet."

Kenji also know that the answer should not be of his known but before he thinks over anymore, he answered. "He, Silver Bullet, have special power, in 1876 at Northern Japan, he showed his power in public in order to save a child of 4 from a drunken driver speeding down the road, after that, he had been hunted for."

The teacher almost dropped her glasses to the floor, her mouth hang open and the rest of the class stayed silence, everyone was just staring at Kenji with disbelieves. After a few seconds of quiet, Uriko broke the silence by start clappings. The teacher stare at her.

"Well Miss, he did get it right, I checked the history book already." Uriko answer with small smirk over her face.

The whole class join in on the clapping, some shouting 'Well done, Kenji' and other such complaintments. The teacher got quite mad but she can't show it, Uriko is right, he did get it right.

"Quiet." The teacher ordered but the noise volume continued "QUIET!" The class fell silence and Kenji remain standing. The teacher point at him. "Sit down." She said calmly.

Kenji obeyed and sat back on his chair, holding the pencil he was fuddling with and stare at blank while the teacher continue with her lesson.

(-_-)

The school bell finally ring and pile of student ran out the main gate of the school, starting their journey back hime. It took a few minutes for the student to clear away and the school yard are left empty...almost empty anyway.

Uriko lain against the school wall beside the double-door which was also the main school enterence and exit. She had said good bye to her friends and now was just waiting for one person, a special person...

Uriko like to watch the sun set, the mixed colour of purple, blue, red and orange painted over the sky, saying their farewell to the sun. She watch as the giant orange orb slowly lower itself behind the mountain.

"Enjoying yourself?" A voice said behind Uriko, almost startled her. She turn around and answer "Yep."

Kenji smiled and answer "Well, we better get home before that sun totally set, you don't like the moon I suppose."

Uriko shake her head "No, I also like the moon but not as much as the sun." Then she looked around. "Well, are we going?"

"Yes, everything is done."

"Are you sure you put the classroom key back to the office key rack, unlike last time, you left it in the key hole."

"I just forgot that time, stop talking about it."

"Well, we are off." Uriko start heading out of the school and stood right in the middle of the school yard. "Well?" sShe saw the look in Kenjis' eyes, they're seraching, seraching for danger. "What's wrong?"

Kenji look around, he felt the presence of someone, it's very close. He turned to his left and out of the coner of his eyes, he spotted a human like figure, his eyes tried to follow it but the movement of what ever it was, it's too fast for his eyes.

He first felt a rush of pain in the back of his head then a voice in his mind, the same voice as before but the message this time are once again unclear.

__

H. c..e t. ge. t.e k.y, sav. h.r n.w

Kenji shake out the pain and clear his head, he look at Uriko who was waving for him to go but a flash broke every thought. The shadow of the figure went pass his head and heading towards Uriko, then the realization hit him.

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'He is after Uriko, she is the key!.' And as if his life are in a rush, he went full speed towards Uriko.

Uriko watch in confuesion as Kenji all of a sudden came speeding towards her, his speed as fast as a speed demon. Then she saw the shadow, also heading towards her. Before she can totally see the figure in midair, somebody knocked her down to the ground and covering her up as she saw the figure throw something at her. She heard a wrine of pain and felt the person on top of her move away from her.

Uriko sat up and saw Kenji beside her, breathing heavily. Then she know why, a sharp looking knife stuck on his back as his blood pour out from the side of the knife. Uriko saw the shadow again, heading towards her with an object in hand. With all her rage to this sudden appearence of this figure, she morphed as the figure got to her, the force field send the figure back and hit the school wall.

Now she can see it, it's a boy, around their age, with silver hair and a pair of glowing red eyes as if under control. He wear a yellow sleeveless T-shirt and blue pants that go to his ankle, with a belt that hold servel knives, and a pair of black runner. The boy got up from his sitting postition and smiled at her, wiping away the tin line of blood at the coner of his mouth.

A loud thundering voice came from somewhere, anywhere.

**__**

You're stronger then I thought, I have under estimated your power, but I shall be prepared next time. Wait for my warrior arrival as he bring my message of death to you, The Key and The Guardian.

And the boy nodded as the voice disappear, with a glow of his red eyes, the space around him swifted and along it, he disappeared.

Uriko morphed back to human form and looked at the barely alive form of Kenji as her eyes show great warry, not just of Kenjis' condition but also the fact that he need to fight the 'Battle Of Self' in 4 more days time and now a mystery enemy appear.

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'I'm the key and you're my guradian...'

-To Be Continue...-

A/N: Well? How did you like it? Messy isn't it? I thought so, anyway, as the fic goes on, you'll understand it more. Review if you enjoyed it.


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